Help Shiba's Mom with stage3 cancer

Shiba is one of my best friends. We’ve known each other since we started our Ph.D. program together three years ago. We’ve stuck by each other through the thick and thin of graduate school, and I can honestly say that he is one of the kindest and most hardworking people I know. But now, as we’re just passing the halfway point to graduation, something terrible has happened to Shiba and his family: his mother was diagnosed with stage 3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of nasopharynx cancer. A tumor in her nasal passage has metastasized and causes intense migraines and can only be treated with radio- and chemotherapy.

Shiba and his sister have recently gone home to India to do their best to take care of their mother. Her cancer is treatable; however, the family can’t afford to pay the bills to see the treatment through. The chemotherapy alone costs around $13,000. She has taken a leave of absence from her job as a schoolteacher and is beginning treatment, but in order for her to be able to complete the treatment, I’m asking for your help for this family that is very special to me and to many other people!